Maneka Gandhi slams Priyanka for saying Varun has 'gone astray'

Replying to Priyanka Gandhi’s barb that her cousin Varun Gandhi had gone "astray" and was working for the "wrong" political party, BJP leader Maneka Gandhi said the voters would soon decide which party was wrong and which was right.

Priyanka had said in a meeting of the Congress workers at Amethi’s Munshiganj guesthouse on Saturday that Varun was mislead into an ideology of hatred.

"There is a member of my family who is contesting Lok Sabha elections from the neighbouring Sultanpur seat on a BJP ticket.

BJP leader Maneka Gandhi (left) said voters would soon answer which party was wrong and which was right following Priyanka Gandhi's (right) barb that Varun Ghandi had gone "astray"

"He has gone astray and working for a wrong political party, which believes in hatred between the communities.

"Although he is my brother, he is only serving the purpose of the communal forces. But the Congress believes in love and compassion.

"I suggest the elders of the Congress take him on a right path,” she had said, before calling on Congressmen to not deviate from their path and concentrate on campaigning for the Congress in Amethi or Sultanpur.

Reacting sharply to her jibe, Maneka, Varun’s mother said: “If working for the country means going astray, then I would like to say that very soon the voters would prove which party is right and which is wrong.”

Earlier, Varun was quoted as appreciating the work of women self-help groups done per ideas of his cousin and Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi in Amethi.

RELATED ARTICLES

Share this article

Later, he had taken a U-turn and said he had not endorsed any leader or party.

Sources in the Congress claimed that Varun, who is BJP general secretary, had taken the blessings of both Rahul and Priyanka before taking a decision to contest from Sultanpur.

But Priyanka doesn’t want to send any signal that the family has a soft corner for him.

Amita Singh, wife of former Sultanpur MP, is Congress candidate against Varun.

“We have also come to know Varun is in trouble ever since he had appreciated Rahul’s work. Smriti Irani, the BJP candidate against Rahul, has reacted sharply to her party leaders against Varun’s statement.

"This could also be the reason that Priyanka is making a statement against her cousin to make things easier for him in the BJP,” said a veteran Congress leader of Amethi who is close to the Gandhi-Nehru family.

Azam says EC acting like 'Cong's CBI'

UP Urban Development Minister Azam Khan alleged the EC was dancing to the tunes of the Congress

UP Urban Development Minister Azam Khan on Sunday said he would move the high court if the Election Commission didn’t review its decision to prohibit him from campaigning for the Samajwadi Party (SP) in the Lok Sabha elections.

Not in a mood to apologise for his divisive speech at a rally in Ghaziabad on April 7, the SP’s prominent Muslim face alleged on Sunday that the EC was dancing to the tunes of the Congress.

“The EC is trying to play the CBI. While the SP supported the Congress for 10 years to keep the communal forces at bay, the Congress is working vindictively against us.

"The EC is working on the directions of the Congress and doing exactly what the CBI does with its rivals,” he said.

Azam also expressed his anger over the EC’s decision to take same action against him and BJP general secretary Amit Shah.

“I had replied to the EC after receiving a notice. But my reply was not taken into consideration.

"But what is most unfortunate for me is the EC’s decision to put me on a par with Shah, who is a communal leader,” he said.

Azam had said at the Ghaziabad rally that it was Muslim soldiers who had fought against Pakistan in the 1999 Kargil incursion.

The EC had on Friday barred him from campaigning and ordered an FIR against him.